Intro
David assists public agency clients with legal issues related to public works construction projects. His clients include water districts, wastewater agencies, community college districts, health care districts, cities, counties, and transit agencies. He has worked on numerous large-scale infrastructure projects, from the drafting of the contract specifications, through the bid process, to contract completion and claims resolution. He has considerable experience with contract award disputes, subcontractor substitution issues, bidder pre- qualification, and has successfully resolved several stop payment notice lawsuits for public agency clients.
Design-build and Alternative Project Delivery Methods
Design-build contracting is increasingly being recognized as a more effective project delivery method for public agencies. David has written papers and presented at conferences on this topic for a number of years, and has considerable recent experience on a number of large infrastructure projects. David is also familiar with the wider range of alternative project delivery methods, and has assisted clients with CM at Risk contracts, lease-leaseback contracts, and public-private partnership arrangements. He works closely with clients to identify which available project delivery methods are best suited for a particular project.
Water District General Counsel
David has served as general counsel to the Purissima Hills Water District for approximately 10 years. In that capacity, he has developed expertise with open meeting laws, Public Records Act compliance, compliance with Proposition 218 requirements during rate increases, and compliance with emergency drought regulations issued by the California State Water Resources Control Board.
Prevailing Wage and Labor Code Compliance
David has considerable expertise with prevailing wage and Labor Code compliance issues. He has assisted agencies and contractors with resolving Civil Wage and Penalty Assessments issued by the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), including the revocation of a $6.4M Civil Wage and Penalty Assessment on behalf of a transit agency. David has also has guided public agencies through SB 854 requirements, and serves as legal counsel to an in-house Labor Compliance Program for a large transit district. For private clients, he has advised on prevailing wage compliance strategies and obtained several favorable prevailing wage coverage determinations from the DIR.
Areas of Focus
Education
Admissions and Courts
Role
Infrastructure Practice Co-Leader
Pure Water Soquel Program (2 projects), Soquel Creek Water District
Regional Environmental Sewer Conveyance Upgrade Program (aka RESCU), Silicon Valley Clean Water
BioGeneration Project, Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San)
Coyote Pumping Plant ASD Replacement Project, Santa Clara Valley Water District
Sepulveda Feeder Pump Stations Project, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
BART to Silicon Valley Phase 2, Tunnel / Trackwork Project, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Charles D. Meyer Desalination Plant, City of Santa Barbara
Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project, Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain)
California Special Districts Association, Public Contracting Expert Feedback Team
Design-Build Institute of America
Bar Association of San Francisco
"More Attorneys Are Jockeying for Public Projects," Daily Journal (June 2009)
"Chapter 7: Public Contracting," reviewer, Municipal Law Handbook (2016)
"Public Contract Disclosures," San Francisco Daily Journal (December 2006)
"Changes to Prevailing Wage Laws Expose Public Agencies to Potential Liability," Public Agency Advisory (February 2004)
"ABCs of Alternative Delivery Models for Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs)," co-speaker, CSDA Annual Conference (August 2023)
"Can We? Should We? What to Know About Design-Build, Progressive Design-Build, and Public-Private Partnership for Water Infrastructure," co-speaker, ACWA Spring Conference and Expo (May 2023)
"The COVID-19 Construction and Design Roundtable," co-speaker, Construction Law Subsection of the Real Property Section of the LA County Bar Association Webinar (April 2020)
"Progressive Design-Build Contracting", Community College Facilities Coalition Annual Conference (September 2018)
"Bracing for Construction Claims: Seven Things You’ll Wish You Had Done When the Claims Come," co-speaker, American Public Works Association, Northern California Chapter (November 2014)
"Design-Build for Public Works Projects," 45th CSDA Annual Conference & Exhibitor Showcase (October 2014)
"Design-Build for Public Works Projects," 17th Annual APWA NorCal Public Works Conference (November 2013)
“Bracing for Construction Claims: Seven Things You’ll Wish You Had Done When the Claims Come,” League of California Cities 2013 City Attorney Spring Conference (May 2013)
"Overview of California Stop Payment Notice Laws," Telfer Oil Annual Meeting on Public Works Construction Issues (March 2013)
"Design-Build/Public Private Partnerships," co-presenter, County Counsels’ Association of California Fall 2011 Public Works & HazMat Study Section (October 2011)
"Creative Options for Delivering Public Works Projects: Design-Build and Public-Private Partnerships," co-presenter, CSDA Annual Conference (October 2011)
"Eight Things You’ll Wish You Had Done When the Construction Claims Come," American Public Works Association (March 2011)
"Bracing for Construction Claims During a Slow Economic Recovery," Public Agency Construction Seminar (September, October 2010)
"Alternative Project Delivery Methods for Public Works Projects," League of California Cities (September 2009)